Overview:
Oscar Feldman, the "Great Man," was a New York city painter of the heroic generation of the forties and fifties. But instead of the abstract canvases of the Pollocks and Rothkos, he stubbornly hewed to painting one subject—the female nude. When he died in 2001, he left behind a wife, Abigail, an autistic son, and a sister, Maxine, herself a notable abstract painter—all duly noted in the New York Times obituary.
What no one knows is that Oscar Feldman led an entirely separate life in Brooklyn with his longtime mistress, Teddy St. Cloud, and their twin daughters. As the incorrigibly bohemian Teddy puts it, "He couldn't live without a woman around. It was like water to a plant for him." Now two rival biographers, book contracts in hand, are circling around Feldman's life story, and each of these three women—Abigail, Maxine, and Teddy—will have a chance to tell the truth as they experienced it.
The Great Man is a scintillating comedy of life among the avant-garde—of the untidy truths, needy egos, and jostlings for position behind the glossy facade of artistic greatness. Not a pretty picture—but a provocative and entertaining one that incarnates the take-no-prisoners satirical spirit of Dawn Powell and Mary McCarthy.
“Christensen is a writer of exceptional polish and keen intent, lacing her clever, well-designed plot with intriguing observations about the evolution (some might say devolution) of art, the inequities between men and women, and the insidiousness of racism…. Great fun from start to finish.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Clever and incisive…. The tension between her characters’ colorful pasts and the yearning (sexual and otherwise) for their latter days is heartbreaking. But these women brim with a wit and personality that overshadow the cocky artist around whom they’ve orbited.”
—New York magazine
“Reminiscent of that particular breed of novel that can only be weaved and welded by a true artisan: where the setting is discrete yet perfectly suited to the occasion and where the characters jump out of the confines of their hardback dwelling and linger with the reader long after reading has ended.”
—The Austin Chronicle
“Christensen has conjured up such a vivid story (complete with New York Times obituary) of this dead New York painter that even the most avid art buffs might find themselves wondering if they missed something.”
—Time Out New York
“Provides no shortage of pop-intellectual entertainment…. [A]profoundly feminist story.”
—Elle
“Christensen pulls up fresh, funny and touching observations about the pretensions and vulnerabilities of the characters who populate the canvas.”
—New York Daily News
“Hilarious yet poignant.”
—Paper
“Racy…. Fast-paced and fun.”
—Daily Candy
“In clean, witty prose, Christensen not only tackles the slippery bonds of love and family but also offers a hilarious glimpse into the avant-garde art world and the egos that fuel it.”
—Very Short List
“Presents vital characters who challenge typical depictions of the elderly as so conservative. These women are complicated, smart, witty, and sexy—even Internet savvy!”
—San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Christensen is a perfect match for [the] tangled web woven by a single deceiver…. No matter how venal her characters, no matter how cruel and selfish they may be, she loves every damn one of them.”
—The Agony Column
“Kate Christensen is the best kind of writer, because she has both X-ray vision and a warm heart. In gorgeous prose she reveals everything there is to know about the four remarkable women at the heart of this lovely, funny, sexy book.”
ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
And Blessed Are The Ones Who Care For Their Fellow Men!
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